vegetables

This has been the weirdest year for our tomatoes. Early in the season it was so cool and rainy, which meant that our tomatoes would keep producing new growth but no ripe tomatoes. Once the summer got its act together and shot up to 90 degrees, we got an overflow of ripe tomatoes. Thank you jeebus! On the weekends I’ve been canning my brains out. I’ve done tomato jam, tomato puree, tomato sauce, but I wanted to do something different this year. Because I don’t really want to live off of lasagna this winter. I’m not Garfield. I thought about canning something outside the box… or.. jar. Something that would incorporate a lot of our garden’s bounty and also be very useful. So obviously, I made bloody mary mix. Here’s a big shocker: we have a lot of friends that come over to visit, camp, help out on the farm, visit the animals and surprise, surprise… drink. And drink a lot. In the morning, they’re often searching for a delicious hair of the dog antidote. Who doesn’t love a good bloody mary? And what’s better than a bloody mary than a healthy homemade bloody mary mix! You’re welcome, friends.

It’s that time of year again where we’re up to our eyeballs in produce. So much… so, so much… So at the end of each week I’ll spend a day or so canning. But after three weeks of canning dill pickles, bread and butter pickles, Such and Such pickles, pickle this, pickle that, it gets old. And I don’t want to be eating the same flavored pickled cucumbers all winter long. That would be a long, boring winter. It’s time to shake things up a bit. We have stacks on stacks on stacks of zucchini and green beans this year so it’s their time to shine! Instead of going to regular dilly bean, spicy beans or whatever route, I decided to spice it up and make curry zucchini pickles and curry bush bean pickles. Curry, apple cider vinegar and turmeric make for a zesty Eastern flair pickle that would be perfect on a winter’s terrine or charcuterie board.

Last year we had a dream. In that dream were rows and rows of perennial vegetables, fruits and herbs. That dream turned into a plan on paper. That, paper became a section of field. That section of field got plowed and tilled……….AND NOW……. it’s almost a reality. squeeeeeee! But there’s one problem, we did our homework and in all our research it was kinda difficult tough to find exact information on how to build a perennial garden/mid-size berry patch/herb garden/ or anything! Sure, there’s info on how to grow a a few plants here and there. And I can see pictures of huge U-Pick orchards and such but what about us in between dudes? Hopefully this will help be a guide for anyone else wanting to plan a mid-size perennial garden and berry patch.

It’s that time of year to put those tomatoes in the ground! YAY!!!!! As much as I love our tomatoes, they sure are needy little things. They’re always like “I’m thirsty, I’m hungry! I fell over! There’s bugs on me! This weed is touching me!” Sheesh! Yes, as wonderful as they are, they sure do need some additional attention and support. Emotional support (in the form of fish emulsion application and pep talks) and physical support. Oh yeah, we’re talking about the ever so important tomato cage. Those of you that usually buy tomato cages at big box stores can know how flimsy and unreliable can be. Instead of buying those or stringing up trellises, we make our own super sturdy and durable tomato cages from highway mesh. They’re very cost effective, can be used year after year, really strong and really awesome.

Awwwwwwww Snap, it’s that time to start up-potting our greenhouse plants again! One minute, we’re planting seeds and then quicker then two jiggles of a jack rabbits ass they’re already growing out of their frigg’n pots! So far we’ve planted a buziillion herb seeds for our herb/tea garden. But for our real deal Holyfield garden (get it? Holy…field. It’s a farm reference but also like Evander? The boxer? His tagline? Trust us, it’s funny). We started eleven pepper varieties, two kale varieties and nine tomato varieties, and thats just for…starters. (Get it? Like, plant starts? ZING! We’ll be here all week, folks). We started our seeds at different intervals depending on their respected days to maturity so we’re constantly up-potting in the greenhouse. This is great because we don’t get too overwhelmed with having to up-pot every single variety all at once. Because when you have over four hundred plants in the greenhouse, it can all get a little daunting! To hell with all that. Work smarter not harder says old wise people! So this year with our up-potting, we’re trying something a little new.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!! Spring is right around the corner, we have our seeds selected, our planting schedule complete and a greenhouse that’s just begging to be filled with heirloom vegetable and herb plants. Seed starting is probably one of my most favorite tasks around the farm… that and the required goat cuddling that must be done at least twice daily. Each seed planted is a little hope for the season to come. But if you’ve never started seeds indoors before, or just need a refresher or some new tips; here’s a look at starting seeds in our greenhouse.

Itâ€™s the most wonderful time of the year! Snow, cozy fireplaces, holiday decorations, bringing your favorite flask with you to company parties and family gatherings. Yeah, all that stuff is great and all but when Iâ€™m talking about the most wonderful time of the year, I mean that itâ€™s freakinâ€™ seed catalog season, son! Yes, itâ€™s December and weâ€™re already talking about summer gardening. Like the holidays, seed catalog season can be very stressful and overwhelming! Whatâ€™s the best seed catalog to order from? What do you do when you have five or six seed catalogs stuffed into your mailbox all at once? Thereâ€™s hundreds of varieties of tomatoes out there, how do you decide which variety to grow? Hereâ€™s some of our tips to help you decide on seed catalogs and seed varieties.

Sorry that we haven’t been posting lately, friends! But if you’ve been following us on facebook or instagram, you know that we’ve been super busy in the garden (Dave calls it “the field” so it sounds cooler but I just think it makes him sound like a Baba O’Reily lyric. 10 points for The Who reference). Right now we’re knee deep in peppers, cucumbers, zucchini and bush beans. Here’s a look around the garden, a.k.a. the field, show you what we have going on and what we’re doing with our harvest.

Is it the end of June already? By the looks of our garden… yes. Yes it is. Our garden is looking nice and delicious, many of our plants are just on the brink of harvest. Each row is flourishing with dark green foliage, flowers and fruits of our labor. Well, mainly Zach’s. He’s been doing a great job of keeping a steady schedule of pest and insect management, weed control and watering when Mother Nature hasn’t been. Before you know it, it’ll be harvest time, selling time and (our favorite) eating time. Here’s a quick look around the garden…

We had our very first harvest of the season last Saturday. We’re growing a dinosaur variety of kale and it’s coming up with a vengeance. Seriously, these kale leaves are as big as your head! We woke up early, early, early on Saturday morning to harvest and prep the kale before selling at the DeSoto Farmers Market. So we packed up our booth and headed over to the market to sell our kale, herb seedlings and fresh homemade beer bread.